Legislative Update - New Laws

Dear Neighbors,

I hope you and your loved ones have been well. The past month has been incredibly hard, and I’ve been taking the time to look after myself and the safety of my family, as well as grieve the loss of a friend and colleague with the murder of Melissa Hortman.

Words fail to capture the ongoing grief of this moment, the terror that political violence inflicts on all of us, and what the future may hold. Over a month later, and I still don’t know what to say other than things can and must be better. That’ll take all of us looking out for each other, helping one another, and calling out the type of harmful rhetoric that builds and builds until it becomes harmful, violent actions.

Melissa believed in lifting up everyone in Minnesota. She took the time to come to our community, work with Tribal leaders, and ensure all voices were heard in our work at the House.

She helped make Sovereignty Day an annual occurrence at the State Capitol. A day where legislators and tribal leaders can come together to build relationships and work on shared priorities.

I was thinking back to this year’s event, and I found this video of Melissa’s remarks. It’s haunting in the way she talks about this work continuing after she’s gone, but she’s right. The work we do at the state capitol is certainly for today, but it is very much for the future, and I hope the impact of our work continues to make life better for Minnesotans long after we’re all gone. I know Melissa’s will.

You can watch her comments from this year’s Sovereignty Day here.

She’ll rightfully be known as the most impactful House Speaker in Minnesota history, and set the standard for what it means to be a legislator dedicated to service and the betterment of our state. 

Rest in Power, Speak.

The last month has been incredibly hard, and at the same time it’s also been eventful. I want to keep you informed of the laws we’ve passed in Minnesota, and the impact of federal legislation on our community.

New Laws, New Budget

On July 1, our new state budget took effect, along with the majority of the new policies lawmakers enacted this past session. As with all of this year’s successful legislation, these new laws are the product of bipartisan compromise. While there are certainly components of the budget I wish went further, especially with the harmful federal budget that was recently passed, there are still plenty of new commonsense policies and investments to be proud of. 

Minnesota Public Radio provided a brief overview of some of these laws, but if you’d like a deep dive of what’s been implemented, you can read a nonpartisan summary of all the new laws here. 

There are several new laws and investments that I authored, fought for, and that benefit Moorhead and our surrounding communities. After we passed our bills, I stepped off the House Floor to highlight one of my favorite accomplishments - funding for a new psychiatric residential treatment facility in Clay County, the funding for which was in our Health bill.

You can watch the quick video I made talking about the importance of this project, and shouting out everyone that made it possible, here.

Other notable highlights in our budget include the $9 million for flood hazard mitigation funding in the Bonding bill. I know how incredibly important it is to fund these efforts for communities like ours that live along the Red River. 

Some of my work on addressing student truancy and improving attendance in our schools was included in the K-12 Education bill. The measures we passed are an important first step in setting a strong foundation for solving this issue and doing right by our kids. 

Another provision of mine in the Health bill directs the Minnesota Department of Human Services, in consultation with Tribes, to apply to the federal government for a waiver to allow the state’s Medical Assistance program to provide coverage for traditional health care practices, ensuring folks are getting access to the care they need.

Working in tandem with policymakers in North Dakota, another big win for our community was the passage of a new law permitting cross-border mental health treatment of persons on probation and parole. It can be hard enough to pass a bill in one state, but to do so in two at the same time is a new one for me! This new law in both states ensures people can get access to the help they need, when and where they need it.

However, there was one bill that only had the goal of denying people access to healthcare coverage. As a condition of agreeing to not shut down the state government and the services Minnesotans depend on, Republicans demanded that our neighbors without legal status be kicked off of MinnesotaCare. I voted against this bill, but as it was part of a larger leadership agreement, it passed both the House and Senate. As part of this agreement, children without legal status are still able to access MinnesotaCare.

While this move rolled back one of our accomplishments from the last few years, I remain incredibly proud of our ability to largely protect the majority of measures we had previously passed into law to support working families and the rights of our neighbors. 

Whether it was Paid Family & Medical Leave, LGBTQ+ rights, reproductive freedoms, or universal school meals, all of these laws saw legislation attempting to restrict or repeal them this session, but they did not succeed.

While we protected this progress, this legislative session serves as a good reminder that no policy is set in stone. It takes all of us working together to build the best Minnesota possible, and while that work is ongoing, it’s work I remain committed to. 

Cuts from the Federal Government

While Congressional Republicans and President Trump call it the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” there’s nothing beautiful about slashing funding for health care and food support - two issues that I’m especially dedicated to supporting.

The new law passed earlier this month makes the largest health care cut in U.S. history, slashing $900 billion from Medicaid. One in four Minnesotans rely on Medicaid, including children, seniors, people with disabilities, and low-income families. These cuts could strip coverage from 250,000 Minnesotans and cost our state $500 million annually in lost federal funding, threatening the stability of hospitals and nursing homes already under financial strain. 

It cuts the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which more than 440,000 Minnesotans use to feed their families. With nine million food shelf visits last year alone, our hunger relief network can’t absorb these additional burdens.

All of these cuts are to pay for $1.3 trillion in tax cuts, with the lion’s share of them going to the very wealthiest among us. Meanwhile, because the vast majority of able-bodied adults receiving benefits are already working, new “work requirements” will just add unnecessary paperwork for counties and providers.

Overall, this package will lead to reduced access to health care and a higher cost of living for working families. Some of the federal cuts and policy changes don’t go into effect for over a year, meaning that it could take some time to feel the full impact of these new laws. With our state budget balanced with federal assistance in mind, it’s possible a special session of the state legislature could be needed later in the year to address these cruel, drastic cuts. I’ll be sure to keep you posted if that becomes the case.

Stay Connected

With the legislative interim officially upon us, I’m grateful to be back in Moorhead. While the political violence that took place a month ago was horrifying, I’m thankful to have spent these last few weeks healing with family and friends. 

Even though we’re no longer in session, I remain your public servant. Please continue to reach out with any questions, comments, or ideas you have on how to make Moorhead and Minnesota better.

Always feel free to contact me at 651-296-5515 or rep.heather.keeler@house.mn.gov. You can also follow along on my legislative Facebook page.

In community, 

Heather Keeler

Minnesota House of Representatives